Rot and Rise/Issue 4

It was nighttime. The moon was the only light Alice could see from the window. No lamp posts, no houses, no candles, no moving televisions. They were all off. As Mr. Damon and Juana slept, she spoke to Rob about what was going on in the world. "This is really starting to worry me. It's been like three weeks and no one has tried to do anything. Not the government, not the military, no one" whispered Alice, trying to speak as lowly as possible.

-"Huh, you're funny, kid. You really think the fucking government would have the balls to get into a town full of walking corpses just to protect the few people inside? They'll just wait it out until we all die and send a report about how they're gonna miss us or some shit. Just watch it go" said Rob.

-"Well, what about the military? They'll do something, I guess" answered Alice.

-"They're just puppets for the government. Trust me, I know about that shit. Those fuckers didn't do shit on the past earthquake around here, did they?" asked Rob.

Alice realized what the man was taling about and raised her eyebrows. It had been some time since she had a good sleep without those weird nightmares. On the courtyard outside, the bright moonlight bounced on the sad pavement of the basketball court. Alice's eyelids started to yield to the heavy slumber, until she found herself with her eyes closed and her mouth open. Finally, she gave up and started sleeping. Rob noticed how he was alone, and waled over to Juana, slowly. His dry footsteps were the only sound in the whole room. Not even the hungry corpses outside made a peep in the dark atmosphere. The shaggy man slowly proceeded to draw his mouth towards the woman's ear. He whispered, "Come on, let's do it".

The woman sat up half asleep and nodded. She played with her messy hair and stretched a bit. In a flash, she stood up from the desk and went over to the corner of the room, where Rob was picking up his bloody axe. "Look, we're not going to make a huge deal out of this. We'll just do what we need to and well be done. You know, it's a..."

-"Hit and run attack" interrupted Rob, smiling as he held onto his trusty axe.

-"Exactly" said Juana. "Okay, no time for talking. Let's get this shit over with"

The couple grabbed their weapons and directed themselves to a sleeping Mr. Damon. He was snoring and drooling, lost in his slumber. Rob raised his axe and tried to take a hit at his head. Juana stopped him before he was able to swing. "What, are you fucking estúpido?" asked Juana, angrily. "Rob, you can't fucking do that! The little girl will hear us, you marica!"

-"Honey, you know I don't fucking understand your Spanish. And, what the fuck are we supposed to do? Give him some fucking tea before we bash his head in? Are you stupid?" asked Rob, maniacally. Juana frowned and looked at him dirty. "Jesús, bendícelo pero por favor, no lo reproduzcas" she muttered. Rob growled at her and tried to lift the heavy man, who still slept. Juana interrupted his action and dragged him off the desk he lay onto. She cringed and pulled his shoes off. Rob snorted and kissed the wise lady on the cheek. He then proceeded to remove the man's denim jacket. Both dragged him out of the room, wearing his clothes. As they opened the door, Alice started to talk in her sleep. Nervously, Juana pushed the man towards the set of lockers next to the door and closed it. Rob threw the denim jacket next to him and stepped inside. Alice woke up and stared at the couple, who were blushing. "What are you two doing?" asked the girl, confused.

-"Oh, don't worry, we were just going out for a walk..." stated Juana.

-"With your axe? In the middle of the night?" asked Alice.

-"Well, we just wanted to see if we could... clear out the people out there. You don't plan on stayin' here for long, do you?" asked Rob, naturally.

Alice sighed and fell onto the floor, ready to sleep again. "I don't know, really. What we need to know is if this thing will go on for long" said Alice, as she closed her eyes again. When she began to breathe slowly again, Juana opened the door and in a flash jumped outside. Next to her, Mr. Damon was awake. He stood there, with his eyes wide open. The woman quickly hit him in the jaw, pushing him to the wall. He spit out blood and fell to the ground, his lip bleeding. Rob raised his axe and stuck it onto his forehead, opening it wide. the teacher didn't have time to scream for help before he was dead. Juana kept kicking his dead corpse around the waist, trying to finish him off. Rob swung his sharp weapon at him, making a hole every time he sank it over his mauled body. When the poor teacher was almost nothing but an unrecognizable piece of meat, Juana opened the main door and kicked him outside. Rob wiped the drips of blood off his face and smiled at his woman. "Done" he said. "Didn't take much, did it?" Juana put her finger on his lips, trying to silence him. "Look, I know we might have hit the fucking jackpot right now, but we gotta move. We can't just blame the people outside like that" she whispered.

Locking the doors tight, she picked up the teacher's shoes and tucked them next to his corpse. Rob zipped the denim jacket he took from the man and cleaned it. "No, no, no. What are you doing? You can't just put the jacket on! The girl can notice that, she ain't stupid" she whispered, taking the jacket off her companion. Rob sighed and opened the door to the classroom. To his surprise, Alice stood in front of him. She gasped and slapped him. Rob tackled her and reached for his axe. "Juana, help me out here, you little shit!" he screamed. Alice fought him off and stood up, kicking him in the rib. Behind her, Juana took a swing in the back of her head and made the girl fall to the ground.

Helpless, the girl tried to breathe for air as she stared into Juana's eyes, who was raising her foot to stomp her throat. "You choose, little girl. You die or you live. Tell us quick, we gotta move" said Rob in a heavy voice. Juana proceeded to lightly place her foot on Alice's throat. She was finished. Trying to draw someone's attention, she started to scream at the top of her lungs. "HELP ME!" she shouted. "THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL ME OUT HERE! SOMEBODY!"

The woman pressed against Alice's throat with her foot, stepping harder every second. Suddenly, a shot was heard. Rob turned red and scrambled around the room, looking for some supplies he could take before leaving. "Woman, take everything you can! Come on, we ain't got time for this bitch! Hurry the fuck up!" he screamed. Juana tried to react, but she was frozen. Should she kill the girl and leave for the supplies or just take everything she could right away? She moved her head towards Rob, but it was too late. Someone behind her fired a shot, getting her in the head. Alice saw how the bullet sank on her foreahead, splashing blood everywhere. Juana's dead body fell onto the girl, making her jump. Rob turned pale and dropped everything he had in his hand. A taller man with a clear stubble and a big bald spot on his greasy head stood in the doorway, with a pistol raised. He had big, brown eyes and some wrinkles around his mouth. The man stood quiet, pointing the gun at Rob. "Leave her the fuck alone, you piece of weasel shit" he exclaimed.